Loveday Writing

In 2017, I started buying the annual Previews edition of TV Week magazine. The edition contains previews to TV shows airing (or about to air) in Australia and that will be released on streaming services throughout the year. I’ve used the Previews edition to find out if shows I’ve already started reviewing are airing again, and to find out what new shows are being released, and what they’re about.

The majority of the shows I’ve reviewed so far I found out about through the Previews edition, which is why I started an annual tradition of buying it every year and publishing a blog post about it, and what shows I’m thinking about reviewing. Sometimes the Previews edition has disappointed me, usually because it turns out there are a smaller number of previews than I thought there would be, and/or the previews weren’t so much previews but recaps of previous seasons.

While I manage to find new shows to watch through the Previews edition, there are times where I find shows I’m interested in watching but don’t end up reviewing.

In 2017, I mentioned in my Previews blog post that I was interested in reviewing Newton’s Law, however with long daily commutes to and from work, I never saw it when it aired. I finally saw the only season of the show in 2020, and while I enjoyed it and it was a good quality show, I couldn’t get my head around some of the legal terms and subplots (not a comment on the writing, rather myself), and I felt I couldn’t review the show and give it the justice it deserved.

I mentioned in my 2018 Previews blog post that I was interested in reviewing Riot, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Working Class Boy, SEAL Team, Instinct, 9JKL, Life Sentence, and Hard Sun, but I didn’t end up reviewing any of them.

I didn’t get around to reviewing them due to long daily commutes to and from work, and later moving away from the town I lived in for eight years, made me miss watching them when they aired. With Hopelessly Devoted to You, a biopic on Olivia Newton-John, I did watch it when it aired and enjoyed it as a viewer, however I decided against reviewing it as I’ve never reviewed biopics before and I felt I couldn’t do it justice. This decision led to me applying a blanket rule to stick with reviewing shows based in fiction as I felt (and still feel) that I’ll never be able to do biopics and documentaries justice, as I’m not expert in the areas and people that they focus on, and no matter how much research I do, I never will be.

I mentioned in my 2019 Previews blog post that I was interested in reviewing Black B*tch (later renamed Total Control due to the controversy that the original title generated), which revolved around “powerful politicians in a tale of betrayal and revenge.” I didn’t review this show as I didn’t get around to watching it at the time, and later decided when doing further research that due to my lack of knowledge of politics that I wouldn’t be able to do the show justice and review it properly.

I mentioned in my 2020 Previews blog post that I was interested in reviewing Rosehaven, Informer 3838, and Fam Time, however I didn’t end up reviewing them. Again, at the time, I didn’t get around to reviewing them, however I decided later on when I did watch Rosehaven and Informer 3838 that I wouldn’t review them. I decided not to review Rosehaven due to the fact that whilst I enjoyed watching it and it was a good show, it didn’t really interest me enough to dedicate the time to review it. In regards to my decision not to review Informer 3838, as it was based on real events and people, it fell under my rule to not review biopics. In regards to Fam Time, I never got around to it and I haven’t been able to find it on any streaming services that I’m subscribed to.

I mentioned in my 2021 Previews blog post that I was interested in reviewing Fires, a six-part drama anthology that tell the stories of people caught in the maelstrom of the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires. Each episode focused on the people, from volunteer firefighters to families, caught up in them. I watched the pilot and while it was well done and I believe this is a good quality show, as it falls under my biopic rule, I decided not to review it.

I mentioned in my 2022 Previews blog post that I was interested in reviewing Barons and Savage River. I watched the pilot of both shows to decide whether I liked them enough to review them, and although they appear to be good-quality shows, the premises and the pilots didn’t interest me enough to continue watching and reviewing them (this isn’t a dig at the writers or actors, just how I personally felt by the end of each pilot).

In this year’s Previews blog post, I found 11 shows that I’m interested in watching, possibly for reviewing:

1. Mother and Son
2. Warnie
3. The Claremont Murders
4. Bay of Fires
5. Heat
6. Paper Dolls
7. Human Error
8. While the Men are Away
9. The Messenger
10. Safe Home
11. Limbo

Only three shows I’ve already reviewed were mentioned in the 2023 Previews edition: Five Bedrooms, RFDS, and The Newsreader. Stay tuned for my reviews as the year progresses.

Behind the Reviews – Edition #37 will be released next week and will focus on After the Verdict.